Mileage

[Steve_M]

Back in the late 1990’s I sold my under three year old Suzuki Bandit with around 27,000 miles on the clock, so around 9-10,000 miles a year on the clock. Potential buyers tended to comment with some surprise that “you use the bike” … Looking at adverts for bikes of a similar age I noted few did much more than a couple of thousand miles a year. Fast forward to now and I’m seeing something similar. While I’m averaging around 7-8,000 miles a year (not commuting, and no longer an IAM Observer has reduced that), I’m seeing lots of bikes with less than a couple of thousand miles a year appearing in adverts.  Now I know that covid lockdowns affected opportunities and cost of living - fuel in particular - will have had an impact but I remain surprised how little some bikes are used. 
 

On the other hand, I did spot a rather nice full luggage 2016 Triumph Tiger 800 with around 6,000 miles which would tempt me - if I were in the market. Which I’m not. No, definitely not thinking about it. Not for a moment.

[S-Westerly]

I generally ride my bike for "fun". Also I'm away at sea for roughly 6 months in 12. Last year I did 8,452 which surprised me. The average is around 5k. 

[manxie49]

I recently seen, at a local garage, an R6 for sale, described as "immaculate".  It was a 2014 model, and I was amazed that it only had 2.5k on the clock!  Things have definitely changed.  Even among some of my biking friends.  A lot of my mates use the bike  as a toy for the weekend.  Their bikes get tucked up nice and warm in October, only to re-appear the following April, one of my mates openly admits that he does less than 1k per year.   On cold  wet days they retreat to the comfort of their cars.  Motorcycling isn't what it used to be.  Since moving over here I no longer do the same sort of miles that I did when I lived in Leicester,  I was probably doing around 11 or 12k a year back then.  That said I still do around 6, maybe 7k a year now.  The difference is my bike gets used, year round.  I also tour on mine and try to get away at least two or three times a year, even if it's over to the Lakes or up to Scotland.  Talking recently to a guy at our local garage, he says that they've had an uptick in the sports bike market, particularly the 600cc class, and I would agree with that, I see them all out, usually parked up at the Creg, at weekends, admiring each others sparkly new machines.  But if all you do is go for a blast down your favourite road on a Sunday, milage is never going to be high.  There's also a lot of other reasons I've heard why people don't put the milage on them, things like "I haven't got the time, family commitments, too busy with work, can't afford it, or bought it as an investment", I've heard all of those in the past.  IMHO though I do think that the motorcycling world, and the demographics and attitudes towards it, have changed since I started biking.  Maybe a good thing for those looking for a 2nd hand bargain, because there does seem to be a few about.

[Fiddlesticks]

Just picked up a nice Triumph Thunderbird which is five years old and barely run in with only about 2700 miles on the clock.  At the other extreme the Explorer is ten years old and almost about to roll over to 50k.

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

I do about 5k a year. Half is short journeys for work. Half is playing out on my day off.

 

But someone I know who bought a brand new Z900RS, lovely bike, just sold it two years old with only 450 miles on it. He just wasn't using it as it was such a nice bike he didn't want to get it wet and dirty.

 

75% of the rides I've arranged this year have been small numbers because guys with new bikes won't ride if it's raining. We're due out on Friday but the forecast is wet and I'm suspecting numbers will fall.

[dynax]

Xena's done just over 5k since 3rd April according to the MOT checker

[rennie]

I don't do many miles nowadays!mainly because of my knees/legs

but there is an element of can't be bothered in there too!

 

I need to get a grip

[Steve_M]

3 hours ago, rennie said:

I don't do many miles nowadays!mainly because of my knees/legs

but there is an element of can't be bothered in there too!

 

I need to get a grip

I went through a period of not wanting to go out on the bike. I think it all got a bit stale and I was disillusioned with a particular biking group I used to ride out with regularly. I got my mojo back by organising rides for a small group of people whose company I enjoyed. 

[S-Westerly]

I ride alone so I don't have to take other people into consideration.  Selfish? Probably.  I also tend to do longish rides when I do go and play. Over a hundred miles on most occasions and sometimes nearer 300 or more.

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

18 minutes ago, S-Westerly said:

I ride alone so I don't have to take other people into consideration.  Selfish? Probably.  I also tend to do longish rides when I do go and play. Over a hundred miles on most occasions and sometimes nearer 300 or more.

To be honest I'm heading the same way. I'm getting a bit fed up of trying to organise group rides. I do all the running tound, planning the route, leading the ride watching out for everyone else, and the numbers making a firm commitment are frustrating. 

 

It's much easier doing my own thing and being free to go where I want, and overtake when I want. 

[S-Westerly]

Exactly. 

[Stu]

I only use my bike as a toy and this last year a change in job meant I had less time to get out on the bike! 

 

I am more of a fair weather rider too but this last year so far I have managed 6.5k and 5.5k the year before 

 

On the FJR I used to barely manage 3k! but I really didn't enjoy that bike at all 

 

I got the BM with 14k on the clocks at 4 years old so averaged 3.5k in that time so very low for a touring bike its now got over 26k on the clocks

[Steve_M]

12 hours ago, Stu said:

I only use my bike as a toy and this last year a change in job meant I had less time to get out on the bike! 

 

I am more of a fair weather rider too but this last year so far I have managed 6.5k and 5.5k the year before 

 

On the FJR I used to barely manage 3k! but I really didn't enjoy that bike at all 

 

I got the BM with 14k on the clocks at 4 years old so averaged 3.5k in that time so very low for a touring bike its now got over 26k on the clocks

Funny you say that you didn’t enjoy the FJR. That’s how I felt about mine. We did three tours of around 2,500 miles, and I used it for house hunting (we moved from Norwich to Cumbria) which racked up a few miles. The owners group rate it as a top bike but it just didn’t work for me. 
 

My BM had 10,000 miles when I bought it four years ago and has 33,000 on it now which includes a period of lockdowns, though  I did a few trips volunteering to run scrubs for the NHS (it was dreadful having to ride over the Lake District Passes with no traffic ). This year will be relatively low mileage but I’ll still do around 6,000 miles. 

[rob m]

16 hours ago, S-Westerly said:

I ride alone so I don't have to take other people into consideration.  Selfish? Probably.  I also tend to do longish rides when I do go and play. Over a hundred miles on most occasions and sometimes nearer 300 or more.

 

Not at all selfish, I love being on my own. I'm setting off on a trip tomorrow for a week on my own and I'll love it. I've let people down over the years with pulling out of trips or getting ill so I've decided to do things on my own now so I'm only letting myself down if I cancel plans. Also I can stop when I want, go where I want etc.

[S-Westerly]

Well not many more miles for me before November now. Just heard I'm off to Clydebank on Thursday then into the office on Friday. On Saturday I'm off to the Bahamas and joining my ship on Sunday. Can't complain. 

[Stu]

10 hours ago, Steve_M said:

The owners group rate it as a top bike but it just didn’t work for me.

 

The owners on the groups have never owned a BMW  

[billy sugger]

I do 200+ miles a week on mine, and that's just the work commute. sometimes do the same mileage on a weekend 

[Steve_M]

13 hours ago, Stu said:

 

The owners on the groups have never owned a BMW  

[manxie49]

On 10/07/2023 at 17:07, S-Westerly said:

I ride alone so I don't have to take other people into consideration.  Selfish? Probably.  I also tend to do longish rides when I do go and play. Over a hundred miles on most occasions and sometimes nearer 300 or more.

I don't think what you do is selfish, I find I'm doing the same more and more.  Two reasons mainly, firstly, if there's a possibility of rain some of my mates don't want too go out, and secondly I get bored just racing around and doing the same old shite.  I prefer to go my own way now and do my own thing.  I have one good mate who I go away with and I'm happy with that.  In fact we're off for a few days in the Lakes next week, rain and all, but we'll still enjoy it.

Edited July 12, 2023 by manxie49

[Yorky]

Likewise, I don't consider that selfish.

I usually do my foreign trips alone for all the same reasons.

Occasionally two of us go together but we both know that we are not obliged to ride the same route or go at the same pace. We both know the days final destination and find our own way to get there. Far more chilled than being in a group with everyone trying to outpace each other.

[Steve_M]

I ride alone pretty well most of the time. A mate occasionally brings a few riders up from Norfolk, I know most of them from RoSPA / IAM and I’ll have a day out with them. I’ve never liked riding in large groups anyway - even when the drop-off system works - as some riders egos get in the way (I’m thinking of a particular couple of riders from a social group I rode with a few times).

 

Touring we do as rider and pillion alone. I like the freedom it gives, being able to stop to take photos, ignore the original planned route, etc. 

 

 

 

 

[Fender1515]

21 hours ago, Steve_M said:

I ride alone pretty well most of the time. A mate occasionally brings a few riders up from Norfolk, I know most of them from RoSPA / IAM and I’ll have a day out with them. I’ve never liked riding in large groups anyway - even when the drop-off system works - as some riders egos get in the way (I’m thinking of a particular couple of riders from a social group I rode with a few times).

 

Touring we do as rider and pillion alone. I like the freedom it gives, being able to stop to take photos, ignore the original planned route, etc. 

 

 

 

 

My biking world is very similar, when I lived down Souf, I had a group on 5 pals from IAM club, we used to escape once or twice a year on trips in Europe, we had ridden together for years, we knew and had confidence in how each of us rode, un written rule, we didn't invite others to join the trips. One year on a trip to the Dordogne we broke the rule,  he seemed a decent bloke and a member of the IAM club, ridden with him on a few day outings in the UK. Long story short, when we embarked on the Ferry, it was like he had been let out of school, we all like a beer of three, but, if your riding at 6am the next morning, drinking till 2 in the morning isn't a great idea.  Once we had docked an disembarked we had words with new guy, along the lines of, we all wont to  have some fun, get there and back safe., lets keep the playtime sensible,  which didn't go down too well.

By mid afternoon,  we are ridding on some decent twisty roads, new bloke, loses concentration, drops the bike, breaks his shoulder, totals the bike. We then spend the next three days sorting out medical, organising his bike to be recovered to the UK, dealing with his family stuff, staying in a local hotel.

We never broke the rule again! 

We can all have offs, for all sorts of reasons, biker life is challenging, but when it is self inflicted,  not good.

These days, I have one riding pal, we are both OK with doing our own routes some days, meeting up at destinations. Gives opportunity to talk more bike bollocks if you have ridden different roads.